Bears Take On Washington At Redwood Shores

BERKELEY – The Cal men's rowing team continues its longstanding rivalry with Washington this weekend when the Huskies come to Redwood Shores for the annual Cal-UW Dual. The Bears will race five boats this weekend in the first big test of the season.

"This is a big one, a big one for us," said head coach Scott Frandsen. "Our first race against Washington is always a good indication of how our crews perform and where our speed is at. Our goal is to keep the focus very internal and execute the race plans that we've been practicing. At the end of the day, it's a race against a very important crew for us."

Saturday will be the 110th meeting between the No. 2 ranked Bears and No. 3 ranked Huskies in a rivalry that dates back to 1903. It is the longest and most storied rivalry in rowing in the west.  At stake is the Schoch Cup, awarded annually to the winner of the varsity eight race.

Cal will send five boats to Redwood Shores this weekend, three varsity eights, a freshman eight, and a varsity four crew. Saturday's race will be streamed via the Cal Live Stream and can be accessed here or by clicking the link above.

"The goal in every event is to try and win, and the best way to do that is not to get external and worry about what our competition is doing," said Frandsen. "A lot of our boats are with tinkered lineups that are different than in the past. This weekend is going to be a big test to see if these lineups are it or if we need to keep tinkering."

Last time out, the Bears had a brilliant two days at Redwood Shores. Cal's V8+, 2V8+, and 3V8+ boats went undefeated at the Pac-12 Invitational, defeating teams from Northeastern, Boston University, and Wisconsin.

However, Frandsen acknowledges this weekend presents a different set of challenges for the Bears. "It's a whole different game when you line up next to another top program. Pleased with how the guys have performed so far but now it's time to step up to our more meaningful races that are coming up quickly."

Saturday's Race Schedule

 
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